The Philippines has more than 7,000 islands, giving us Filipinos no excuse not to see the beauty of our beloved country. I try my best to travel to at least 1 province a month because I am so eager to see many of our undiscovered islands and just enjoy the scenery, the beach, the calm waves of the ocean and Mother Nature. Our country is also blessed with beautiful falls and we’re so lucky, we don’t even have to travel far to see falls near Metro Manila.
My family used to live in Angono, Rizal, a province with a lot of history – from the Petroglyphs in Binangonan to the clean rivers and falls in Tanay, Rizal. One night, I came across a Filipino Back Packers Facebook Group and it was very timely because I had been wanting to visit Tanay Rizal for a while. I didn’t have a lot of money to travel lavishly, though. In fact, I only had Php1,000 available for a day trip. So, if you only have a limited budget to travel with, where can you go when you only have less than Php1,000/$22?
Believe it or not, you can see amazing natural water in the Calinawan Cave, Daranak Falls, Batlag Falls and even visit the Pililla Wind Farm with only Php690.
Yes! you read that right! I was able to travel and enjoy a whole day trip with a budget of less than Php1,000 /$22. Here’s my detailed itinerary for my Rizal trip.
ITINERARY:
0500 – Assembly in Mcdo LRT Gil Puyat, Buendia-Taft beside Jac Liner
0515 – ETD to Rizal
0530 – Pick up at Jollibee Farmers Cubao under MRT Cubao
0730 – ETA in Tanay, Rizal
0800 – Calinawan Cave
We arrived at the Calinawan Cave before 8 in the morning and we were all excited to see what was inside this unknown cave.
A quick reminder from our tour guide on what to do and what not to do inside the cave.
Going inside the Calinawan Cave with our group of 15 and 1 tour guide.
This isn’t my first time to tour inside a cave, but this happened to be the most memorable, fun and tiring 30-minute tour so far, thanks to our witty tour guide who was full of “hugot lines”.
Photo Courtesy from Mara B.
Calinawan Cave is located in Tanay, Rizal. The cave used to be where the Katipuneros sheltered themselves during the 1800s and is also one of the more unknown historic places here in the Philippines.
1000 – Daranak Falls
Our 2nd stop was the famous Daranak Falls in Tanay, Rizal. I can’t remember the last time I was there, but the falls and flowing river still amazed me.
1200 – Lunch
Picnic lunch at the Daranak Falls. We were all reminded to bring our own lunch.
1300 – Batlag Falls
Our third stop, Batlag Falls, was just a few minutes away from Daranak Falls.
Fellow travelers having fun and being silly, lol.
I like these falls better because it was less crowded. You can pitch a tent and stay here overnight, as well.
1500 – Pililla Wind Farm
1700 – ETD to Buendia
1900 – Drop off Cubao 2000 – ETA at Buendia-Taft
Our final stop was at The Pililla Wind Farm. You don’t have to go all the way to Ilocos just to see something like this. By the way, there is no entrance fee here.
1700 – ETD to Buendia
1900 – Drop off Cubao 2000 – ETA at Buendia-Taft
Budget: Php690 (inclusive of van transfer, entrance fee, registration fee, guide fee and cottage)
THINGS TO BRING:
- 2-3L Water
- Clothes
- Sunblock
- Cap / Scarf
- Shades
- Lunch
- Foods (peanut, jelly ace, chocolates, mallows etc)
Thanks to Mara, I was able to join a whole day of fun-filled adventure and tour in Rizal.
